TAS Community Equipment Scheme (TasEquip / CES)

What Is This Payment?

The Community Equipment Scheme, known as TasEquip or CES, supplies home equipment to Tasmanians whose disability or illness means they need aids to live safely at home. In the rule database it is tagged as an eligibility-only benefit in the TAS Disability Support cluster, with an entitlement scope of person and an ongoing period. Ongoing is significant: the scheme is not a single one-off purchase but a continuing arrangement that can supply, replace, or upgrade equipment as a person's needs change.

The scheme is listed among the Tasmanian Government's health concessions and is accessed through an authorised therapist rather than through a self-service application. That therapist-led pathway is deliberate: equipment such as hoists and electric wheelchairs must be matched to the person's clinical needs and home environment, which a therapist assesses before prescribing.

The design intent is to keep people living independently at home by removing the cost barrier to essential aids. Rather than paying out cash, the scheme provides the physical equipment, which keeps the support tied to clinical need. It differs from a financial-assistance loan or a bill rebate in that the benefit is realised as goods, not money, and it sits alongside other Tasmanian disability and health supports rather than replacing them.

How Much Can You Get?

This rule is an eligibility_only type, so it pays no cash and there is no rate to calculate. The value is the subsidised equipment supplied through the scheme. The rule amount note describes the benefit as in-kind support for home aids, with the specific item assessed against the equipment needed.

To understand the value, work through the path in order. First, confirm eligibility against the three conditions below. Second, see the authorised therapist, who assesses your needs and prescribes the right equipment — the rule note lists shower chairs, walking aids, hoists, wheelchairs, and electric wheelchairs as examples. Third, the scheme supplies the prescribed item; the dollar value follows from the item rather than from any fixed payment, so a walking aid and an electric wheelchair represent very different levels of support.

Because the amount type is eligibility-only, there is no multiplier, no income taper, and no date window inside the rule. The scheme does not scale a dollar figure to your income; it either unlocks access to prescribed equipment or it does not. The value realised therefore depends entirely on what the therapist prescribes for your assessed need, which can range from a low-cost aid to a high-cost powered device.

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set, so every item must pass.

1. Tasmanian residence: state = TAS. The scheme is open to Tasmanian residents, and the application note expects residence of at least three months.
2. Confirmed disability or illness: disability_or_illness_confirmed = true. The condition must be clinically confirmed, not self-declared, because the equipment is prescribed against an assessed need.
3. Eligible concession card: concession_card_type in [pensioner_concession_card, health_care_card, dva_gold_card, commonwealth_seniors_health_card]. Holding one of these four cards is required alongside the confirmed condition.

Required fields for assessment are your state, whether your disability or illness is confirmed, and your concession card type. All three must be present for the rule to return a yes.

The excludes block and conflicts list are both empty, so no other payment disqualifies you. TasEquip can be used alongside Centrelink income support and other Tasmanian concessions; it is the clinical and card test, not a payment clash, that decides eligibility.

One practical consideration sits in the rule note: access runs through an authorised therapist, who provides the prescription. Even when all three conditions are met, the equipment cannot be supplied until a therapist has assessed the need and prescribed the specific item.

How To Apply

Application metadata defines a single channel: authorised therapist. You do not apply to TasEquip directly; instead, an authorised therapist assesses your needs and prescribes the equipment, which initiates the supply through the scheme.

Evidence requirements are explicitly listed in the rule and should be prepared in advance:

• therapist prescription — a prescription from an authorised therapist specifying the equipment that matches your assessed need

Two practical tips help here. First, arrange the therapist assessment early, because the prescription is the document that drives the whole process and nothing is supplied without it. Second, have your concession card and proof of at least three months' Tasmanian residence ready, since both the card test and the residence expectation in the note must be satisfied before the equipment is approved.

Read the official TasEquip CES guidance

Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1: Pensioner needs a shower chair and walking aid

Aarav is 74, has lived in Tasmania for over a decade, and holds a Pensioner Concession Card. After a fall, his occupational therapist confirms reduced mobility and prescribes a shower chair and a walking frame. Because all three conditions are met — Tasmanian resident, confirmed condition, and eligible card — the rule returns eligible. TasEquip supplies both aids, so Aarav pays nothing for equipment that would otherwise cost several hundred dollars to buy outright.

Scenario 2: Confirmed disability needs an electric wheelchair

Huong has a Health Care Card and a confirmed progressive condition. Her therapist assesses her need and prescribes an electric wheelchair, a high-cost item. She passes all three conditions, so the rule returns eligible and the scheme supplies the powered chair. Because the value follows the prescribed item, her support is far larger than a low-cost walking aid would represent, even though the eligibility test is identical.

Scenario 3: Condition not yet confirmed

Trang holds a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and believes she needs a hoist at home, but she has not yet had a clinical assessment confirming her condition. Because disability_or_illness_confirmed is not satisfied, the rule returns not eligible for now. Once a therapist confirms her condition and prescribes the equipment, she would meet all three conditions and could proceed.

Scenario 4: No eligible concession card

Quang has a confirmed disability and has lived in Tasmania for five years, but he holds none of the four eligible concession cards. The confirmed-condition test passes, yet the card test fails, and because every item in the all set must pass, the rule returns not eligible. He would need an eligible card such as a Health Care Card before TasEquip can supply his prescribed equipment.

Common Mistakes

• Skipping the therapist prescription: the only channel is an authorised therapist, and the prescription is required evidence. Applying directly without an assessment leaves the request with no basis to supply equipment.
• Self-declaring a disability: the rule requires disability_or_illness_confirmed = true, meaning a clinical confirmation. A self-described condition that has not been assessed does not satisfy the gate.
• Overlooking the three-month residence note: the application note expects residence in Tasmania of at least three months. New arrivals sometimes assume immediate access, but the residence expectation must be met.
• Expecting a cash payment: TasEquip is in-kind support, not money. The benefit is the supplied equipment such as a hoist or wheelchair; there is no dollar payment to spend elsewhere.
• Assuming an income test applies: there is no income or asset test in the rule. Eligibility turns on the confirmed condition and one of the four concession cards, not on how much you earn.
• Using a seniors card instead of a concession card: only a Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, DVA Gold Card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card qualifies. A state seniors card alone does not satisfy concession_card_type for this scheme.

Related Benefits

The conflicts list and affects list in this rule are empty, but TasEquip sits within a broader set of Tasmanian disability and health supports used by the same person. Use these links to navigate the surrounding rules.

• TAS Visual Aids — companion equipment support for vision needs, prescribed in a similar therapist-led way.
• TAS CPAP Program — clinical equipment support for sleep conditions, another in-kind device scheme.
• TAS Enteral Feeds and Supplements — prescribed clinical supplies for people managing complex health needs at home.
• TAS Wigs Subsidy — targeted clinical aid subsidy for eligible Tasmanians.
• TAS Taxi Subsidy Program — transport support for people whose disability prevents using public transport, a common companion need.
• TAS Free Ambulance — health-cost relief that pairs with equipment support for people with ongoing conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions